Collapsible wheeled vehicle



Oct. 27, 1953 Filed March 20, 1952 A. H. B. QUIST COLLAPSIBLEI WHEELED VEHICLE 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR. Gulls? r 7 7 02. M: n!

Oct. 27, 1953 A' u s'r 2,657,069

COLLAPSIBLE WHEELED VEHICLE Filed March 20, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. 7. Ji. 5. Q1032 Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UN?! TED PATENT F ICE 2,657,069 COLLAPSIBLE WHEELED VEHICLE :AxelHar-ald BlIIBl' Quist, Norrkopingxsweden 1952,.Serial No. 277,569 In Sweden November 1, 1950 Application March 20 Claims.

Thepresentinvention relates to wheeled vehicles of" the so-called collapsible type and'more particularly has reference toa vehicle of the two wheel typeprovided-With means allowing the wheels tobe iocke'd in aground engagingposition with respect tothe vehicle frame or mo'ved to a position whereby'the wheels are disposed and maintained in a plane substantially parallel to the plane-of the load -supportingsurface of the vehicle to define a compact assembly thus facilitating packaging and storage of the vehicle.

Of course! am aware that means haveheretoi'ore been devised 'to'permit theground wheels of avehicle to beswung from 'the road engaging position to a nested position, so to say, in regard to a vehicle body in order to make the vehicle less bulky fortransportationand storage purposes. While these prior assemblies are generally satisfactory, they do have one serious objectionable characteristic. To "either collapse or set u the vehicle, itis necessary that three persons cooperate r during the procedure i to achieve "the desired -ends. One personmust manipulate the handle or tongue and-another each'ofthe ground wheels. This isnot only a time consuming operati'onbut also expensive since "so many persons are required to etliciently setmp and take down thevehicle.

Accordingly, an important-object of. the invention is to overcome the 'foregoing and other disadvantageous features now :present :in i the art.

A i'urther 'object oi the :inventicnds to provide a vehicle or-thetwc wheel type with means for swinging the'wheels from "the road engaging position to a position insubstantial parallelism with the load "supporting surface of the vehicle, such means being so constructed and arranged as tocbe operated easily andefllciently bya single person.

Yet a iurtheriobiect "01 .thepresent invention is to provide a collapsible two wheeled vehicle which may bet'owedrby a power driven vehicle in the fashion of :a trailer :or either pushed or pulled manually.

Still another object '0! the invention is to provide a vehicle of the characterdescribed including a loadsupporting frame, a handle pivoted to theirame for movement about athorizontal axis, wheels supportedrby the handle'swingable about an axis parallel to the 'longitudinahaxis of the handle to enable the wheels to be .moved into road engaging position relative to the frame, complemental means on :the wheel supports and frame to maintain the wheels in the .road engaging position, further .means :on the wheel supports and handle to allow the wheels :to .be

2 swungabout an axisperpendicular to ithe longitudinal axis of the handle so that Whenthe handle is'moved about its pivot'into parallelism with the load supporting frame, the wheelsimay also be moved into parallelism with the frame about the handle and means carried by the frameextending to a position adjacent; the-ham dle for actuating the complemental means ontthe wheelsupports and frame.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details-of construction, and in the arrangement andoombinationoi'iparts to be hereinafter morefully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying'drawingsfomiing part of this application, wherein like :refierence characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view inside elevation or-aivehlc made in accordance with'the inventive concept, the wheels being shown in the docked roa'd engaging position.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the vehlcledepicted in Figure '1, with the wheels moved from the ground engaging position into substantial parallelism-with theload supporting sur iacehf the frame.

Figure 3 is a top'planview showing the handle and wheels moved into the nested or :collapsed position above the load supporting surf-ace.

Figure 4 is a iragmental top-plan viewof the wheel supporting arm, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view ofxa slightly modified form of thewheel supporting arms.

The vehicle includes-a framei, ground-wheels 2 and a handle or tongue 3. Theframe oribox is defined by side walls 4, end walls 5 and a floor or load supporting surface Ssuitablysecured'to the respective walls.

As shown in Figure 2, the handled is'tubular and in the form of anelongated closed loop-having side members and end members 1-8 and 8 connected to the free ends of 'the-si'de members. The end member 8 is journalled in a pair-sot spaced apart'bearing surfaces attached to zone of theend walls 5 of the frame, the bearingrsurfaces being identified l0, and :asrshown in Figure 1, these surfaces are disposed in .a plane above the frame I. Hence, it can -be-seen"that the handle 3 may have pivotal movement about a horizontal axis with respectto'the frame 1 so that the handle may be movedtoapositionsub stantially parallel to the floor 6. as :will .be later described.

The endmember 9 of the handle isdisplaced angularly from the plane of the side members 1 to constitute a hand grip if the vehicle is either pushed or pulled manually. To permit the vehicle to be towed as a trailer type vehicle, the end member 9 carries an apertured lug or extension H projecting rearwardly from the midpoint of the end member 9. The lug II is adapted to be attached to a conventional coupling on the towing vehicle (not shown).

Each ground wheel 2 is journalled as at I2 in a supporting arm I3 and as depicted in Figure 4, the arm 13 is formed of two longitudinally extending spaced members M with the wheel mounted in the hiatus between the members. The ends of the members remote from the handle are connected together to define an extension l5 while the opposite ends of the members are attached to an angular extension l6 of the arm. The angular extension I6 is pivoted in proximity to its free end to a lug l1 projecting outwardly from an elongated sleeve l8 rotatably supported by each side member I of the handle. The pivot connection may be of any convenient type and is indicated l9. To prevent the arm extension from swinging freely about the pivot 19, the extension and lug are provided with apertures and 21 respectively, adapted when brought into registry (Figure 2) to receive a looking pin 22 of the removable type whereby the wheels may be maintained in the positions illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

The sleeves l8 are of lesser length than the side members I and to arrest longitudinal movement of the sleeves, a stop collar 23 is anchored to the side member at each To aid in turning the sleeves [8, a hand grip 24 is attached to each sleeve adjacent the upper end thereof and the grip extends perpendicularly with respect to the sleeve. With the wheels in the Figure 1 position, the grips 24 extend inwardly of the handle to enable the operator to more easily grasp and manipulate the grips for rotating the sleeves and consequently, swing the wheels 2.

Needless to say, it is essential that means be provided to maintain the wheels. in the road. engaging position and a locking unit 25 accomplishes this end. The unit 25 comprises a shaft 26 rotatably supported beneath the lower face of the floor 6 in proximity to the front of the frame I by spaced brackets 21. A stirrup 28 is anchored to each end of the shaft 26 and when the wheels are down or at right angles to the floor of the frame, the stirrups will embrace the extensions l5 of the arms l3 and thus prevent any swinging movement of the wheels relative to the frame.

To move the stirrups toward and away from the extensions 15, a connecting rod 29 is secured at one end to one of the stirrups as denoted at 30, the rod extending in spaced parallel relation to the side wall 4 of the frame I and the free end of the rod is pivoted at 3| to arm 32 of a pedal assembly 33. The pedal assembly 33 is mounted on the end wall of the frame in a bracket 34 attached to the end wall at its point of juncture with the side wall 4. Each end of the arm carries a tread portion 35 and with the wheels down, it will be seen that by depressing the lower tread portion to move the arm about its pivot, the rod 29 will be displaced toward the handle and thereby simultaneously swing the stirrups in an up ward direction to engage the arm extensions l5. Obviously, the depression of the upper tread portion moves the rod in the other direction to swing end of the sleeve. 1.

the stirrups outwardly and downwardly away from the extensions. If desired, one or both of the stirrups may include a handle member 36 so that the stirrups can be operated independently of the pedal assembly at the front end of the frame.

As an added safety measure to ensure that the stirrups will not be moved away from the extensions l5 accidentally, a supplemental locking unit 31 is employed. The unit 31 consists of a rod 38 which is journalled in brackets 39 mounted on the opposite side wall 4, the rod extending longitudinally of the frame and provided with a grip piece 40 located near the end member 8 of the handle. The other end of the rod projects beyond the stirrup and terminates in a hook 4|. When the wheels are down and the stirrups are over the extensions IS, the grip piece 40 is manipulated to turn the rod until the hook engages the stirrup and in this position, the stirrups cannot become disengaged from the extensions.

When it is desired to package or store the vehicle and with the vehicle assembled as shown in Figure 1, the rod 38 is turned to move the hook 4| out of engagement with the stirrup 28 and the upper tread portion 35 is depressed thus swinging the stirrups 28 away from the arm extensions l5 to free the wheel supporting arms I3. The handle is moved downwardly about its pivot to the frame until the floor 6 rests on the ground and by turning the sleeves 18 with the aid of the hand grip-s 24, the supporting arms 13 and wheels 2 can be swung outwardly until the wheels also rest on the ground. The next step is to remove the pins 22 from the apertures 20 and 2| in the extension l6 and the lug [1 so that the wheels may be moved outwardly away from the side walls of the frame I. The handle is then swung about its pivot to the frame until it rests on the side and end walls of the frame in parallelism to the floor 6. By turning the sleeves l8 and moving the arms about the pivots IS, the wheels will be moved over the handle with one wheel above and overlapping the other wheel.

It will be appreciated that these various steps can be readily and efliciently performed by one person in a minimum of time and the vehicle when collapsed is quite compact thereby allowing several vehicles to be shipped in a single case.

This is particularly important in shipments carried by water vessels where the freight charges for bulky merchandise is predicated upon cubic meter of the package. Also, the compact nature of the collapsed vehicle permits it to be easily stored and the capacity of warehouses and the like is materially increased.

For the purpose of brevity the assembly or setting up of the vehicle is not being described specifically, it being apparent that the order of the steps is reversed.

A bumper unit 45 of any desirable type may be fixed to the end wall remote from the handle for the usual purposes, and rubber hand grips (not shown) may be provided for the end member 9 on each side of the lug II.

It should also be mentioned that the angle between the extension l6 and the arm I3 is such when the vehicle is set up for use, the arm 13 will be approximately parallel to the floor 6.

While the handle and wheels have been illustrated as swinging above and over the floor of the frame, it is manifest that the parts could be arranged to lie beneath the floor in the collapsed position. Also, by changing the configuration of the lug H on the sleeve, the wheel supporting arms could be straight rather than having the angular extension l6. Such a modified form of the arrangement is shown in Figure 5 wherein the extension I6 is straight, that is, in longitudinal alignment with the portions [3 and H with the ends fixed to the lug IT. The reference numerals are the same as in the preferred form with the exception that they are primed.

The present invention may be embodied in other detailed forms without departing from the spirit of the concept, the specific assembly being merely illustrative and the scope of the invent on being defined by the attached claims rather than the foregoing description, and all modifications which fall within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be covered thereby.

I claim:

1. A collapsible vehicle comprising a frame having a load supporting surface, a handle pivoted to the frame for movement about a horizontal axis, wheels supported by the handle swingable about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle to allow the wheels to be swung from a plane perpendicular to the load supporting surface to a plane parallel to the load supporting surface, complemental means on the wheel supports and frame to maintain the wheels perpendicular to the load supporting surface whereby the wheels engage the road surface, further means on the wheel supports and handle to permit the wheels to be swung about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle so that when the handle is moved about its pivot to the frame into parallelism with the load supporting surface, the wheels may also be moved into parallelism with the frame load supporting surface in spaced relation to the handle, and operating means carried by the frame operatively connected to said complemental, means for actuating the said complemental means, the operating means being located adjacent the said handle.

2. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 1 further characterized in that said complemental means includes a stirrup for each wheel pivoted for movement about a horizontal axis to the frame, an extension on each wheel support, the operating means being attached to the stirrup for moving the same about its pivot into engagement with the wheel support extension.

3. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 1 further characterized in that latching means is supported by the frame for engaging the complemental means when the wheels are disposed in a plane perpendicular to the load supporting surface and an operating member connected to said latching means adjacent to said handle.

4. A collapsible vehicle comprising a frame having a load supporting surface, a handle pivotally connected to the frame for movement about a horizontal axis, a pair of wheels, a supporting member for each wheel, means to rotatably mount the wheel in the supporting member, means defining a pivot connection between each supporting member and the handle whereby the wheels may be swung from a plane perpendicular to the load supporting surface to a plane parallel to the load supporting surface, complemental means on the frame and each wheel supporting member to maintain the wheels perpendicular to the load supporting surface whereby the wheels engage the road surface, operating means located in proximity to the handle and operatively connected to the said complemental means to actuate the same, and further means constituting a pivot connection between each supporting memher and the means defining a pivot connection between the wheel supporting member and the handle to permit the wheels to be swung about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle so that when the handle is moved about its pivot to the frame into parallelism with the load supporting surface, the wheels may also be moved into parallelism with the load supporting surface in spaced relation to the handle.

5. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 4 further characterized in that said means defining the pivot connection between the supporting member and the handle comprises an arm on the supporting member, a sleeve rotatable about the handle and a rigid connection between the arm and the sleeve.

6. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 5 further characterized in that said further means constituting a pivot connection between each supporting member and the means defining a pivot connection between the wheel supporting member and the handle comprises a fixed pivot between the arm and the rigid connection and a removable locking unit between the arm and rigid connection so that when the locking unit is removed, the supporting member and wheel may swing about the fixed pivot.

'7. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 6 further characterized in that said handle is an elongated closed loop of tubular form, the said sleeves being rotatable about the long legs of the loop.

8. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 4 further characterized in that said complemental means includes a stirrup for each wheel pivoted to the frame for movement about a horizontal axis with respect to the frame, an extension on each wheel supporting member, the operating means being connected to the stirrup for moving the stirrup about its pivot into engagement with the extension on the wheel supporting member.

9. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 8 further characterized in that each. stirrup is supported by a shaft secured to the frame whereby the stirrups move in unison.

10. A vehicle as defined in and claimed by claim 9 further characterized in that one of said stirrups is provided with a hand grip for moving the stirrups about their pivots independently of the operating means.

AXEL HARALD BIRGER QUIST.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 887,858 Smith May 19, 1908 919,880 Kaufmann et a1. Apr. 2'7, 1909 1,409,838 Emery et a1 Mar. 14, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 619,397 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1949 

